15 Washington Co. recreation projects in line for state funds

April 25, 2012|By HEATHER KEELS | heather.keels@herald-mail.com

WASHINGTON COUNTY — New softball field lights at Martin L. Snook Memorial Park, resurfacing of Boonsboro High School’s track and a “wall of honor” for a memorial park in Hagerstown are among a list of 15 Washington County projects in line for Maryland Program Open Space funds.

The Washington County Board of Commissioners approved the list of projects Tuesday.

The county is anticipating $745,515.95 in open space funds for fiscal 2013, Parks and Facilities Director James L. Sterling said.

The county can apply for the funds from the state after July 1, and it takes three to six months for state approval, so most projects funded with the grants will begin in the spring or summer of 2013, Sterling said.

The top-dollar project on the county’s list is the softball-field lighting at Martin L. Snook Park, slated to get $350,000. That project involves replacing the existing wooden light poles that have been in place for more than 20 years in the park’s two softball fields with new, 80-foot light poles, Sterling said.

The Boonsboro High track resurfacing is slated to get $157,500, and the second phase of Hagerstown’s Memorial Park is slated to get $49,500. That 0.7-acre park, approved by the mayor and city council in December 2010, is at the corner of West Memorial Boulevard and South Potomac Street.

The first phase included installation of park benches, landscaping and walkways, and the second will include construction of a “wall of honor” with the names of veterans and other noteworthy citizens, as well as the addition of more benches and trash cans, Sterling said.

The projects and funding amounts were recommended by the Recreation and Parks Advisory Board.

Program Open Space administers funds from the state real-estate transfer tax and federal programs. Money is provided to local governments to help buy land and build park facilities to meet land conservation and recreational goals.